Blessed Is She
by Queenie Z
Summary: Link takes a short break from his journey to pay his respects to the mother who saved his life... the mother he never had. Ocarina of Time. Happy Mother's Day!


**Blessed Is She  
****By Queenie Z**

It was a place in the forest that Saria had taken him to years before; a grove where hundreds of wildflowers bloomed every spring. Foxgloves, violets, primroses, and other flowers carpeted the area, coloring the forest floor in shades of yellow, white, pink, and purple. Link was relieved to see that the grove had managed to remain untouched by Ganondorf's evil power, for he found himself one day in need of an armful of pretty flowers.

He carried the fat makeshift bouquet through the tunnels of the Lost Woods with a chipper smile on his face, not noticing the trail of leaves and petals he was leaving behind. However, Navi did, and she flew up to her partner's ear to make a suggestion.

"Link," she said, "don't you think you should have brought a basket or something?"

He laughed bashfully and shrugged. "Guess I just didn't think of bringing one." He stopped to pick up a violet that had fallen to his feet, then continued walking.

"There's a lot of things you don't think of," chided Navi playfully.

"Hey, I thought of doing this, right? That counts as something!"

"I suppose!"

The two caught sight of the rooftops of Kokiri Forest, and Navi took the opportunity to fly back into Link's hat. To the forest children, the grown-up Link was simply known as the man who drove the monsters away, and for any of them to recognize her would have only made things more complicated, so she elected to stay hidden while they were in the village. Being careful not to drop his flowers, the young hero made his way downwards, leaping from the small ledge above into a patch of grass below. This caught the attention of Fado and two of the Know-It-All Brothers, who immediately surrounded him.

"Hey Mister!" said Fado, "Those are forest flowers! What're you gonna do with those?"

"Oh, uh," said Link, taken aback by the children's sudden curiosity, "I just picked these for somebody, that's all."

"Somebody? Who's 'somebody'?" asked the first brother.

The second brother snickered. "You can't hide it from me! Those are for a girl, right?"

"Ooooh! Mister, do you _like_ somebody? Huh? Huh?"

Link turned bright red at the accusation and furiously shook his head. "N-No! No, that's not it at all!" He thought for a moment how to explain it to them, then glanced towards the Deku Tree's meadow where he had been headed. "...They're for somebody really special. But not a girlfriend or anything!"

"Aww," said Fado, disappointed, "really?"

The second Know-It-All brother frowned. "I still think they're for a girlfriend."

"Well, they're not." Link walked past the three Kokiri and continued to the meadow. "Anyway, uh, I've gotta go. See you!"

Once he was out of sight, Navi peered through the brim of Link's hat, then fluttered out. "Hee hee, they really think you have a girlfriend, Link!"

The boy puffed out his cheeks in a pout. "Well, it's not like I could tell them that they're for my mother. They're Kokiri - they don't have mothers. They wouldn't understand."

"You didn't think you had one, either, until recently." Navi flew over to the flowers, resting on a foxglove bulb. "But you seem to understand just fine."

"That's different." He sighed. "...There's a lot of things I've started to understand lately. I dunno. It's complicated."

They stepped into the meadow of the dead Deku Tree and his sprout, whose face lit up in delight when he spotted them. "Heya, Link!" he greeted brightly. "Long time no see!"

"Hello, Deku Tree Sprout," he replied with a friendly smile. "Is everything going okay?"

"Everything's been just peachy since you lifted the curse!" The sprout gazed up at the flowers. "Say, what are those for?"

"They're, um..." Link looked down at the flowers bashfully. "...They're for my mother."

"Link thought," began Navi, noticing that Link had gone quiet, "that he should pay his respects to his mother... after all, you did tell him that she died here in the forest."

The sprout remained silent for a moment. Then, he smiled warmly. "I think that's a wonderful idea. Come here."

He looked back up, then went to sit down by the Deku Tree Sprout. He laid the flowers in his lap, listening eagerly to what he had to say.

"So, you think you understand what it means to have a mother, Link?"

"A little." He leaned back on the palms of his hands. "I've seen lots of mothers with their kids in Hyrule. They were playing with them and giving them lots of hugs and kisses - I guess I just now realized that I had someone like that, too, once."

"Someone who loved you more than life itself." The sprout closed his eyes in thought. "Indeed... she loved you enough to keep you safe until her very last breath. She must have been a woman of great fortitude and courage."

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

"The Deku Tree Sprout is right," said Navi, fluttering around Link's head. "She came all the way to the forest during a war because she wanted to save you. That had to have taken a lot of courage!"

Link, however, didn't answer. Instead, he gazed at the dead canopy of the former Deku Tree, pondering the others' words. Then, he lowered his head, sniffling and rubbing his face with his gloves.

"Link?" Navi flew in closer. "Oh, Link, you don't have to cry..."

"She died trying to save me," he said quietly, "but because of that... because of that..." He looked back up at Navi, his face tearstained and his nose running. "...I never got to meet her. I never got to give her hugs and kisses like other Hylian kids. It's not fair, Navi!" He sobbed pathetically, betraying his true age and childlike sorrow. "It's not fair..."

"Ah, but Link," interrupted the sprout, "you'll get to see your mother some day."

"Huh?" The tearful hero stared at him. "When?"

"When you reunite in the world after this one." The sprout spoke softly, his childish voice resonating with the wisdom of his predecessor. "Your mother is a blessed woman. The Goddesses praise those who gave their lives to save another, so I'm sure she's with Them, watching over her son as he grows up to be the Hero of Time."

Navi nodded. "You see? She's waiting for you!" She rubbed against the boy's cheek, comforting him with her warm glow. "And I bet she's very proud of what you're doing. She's going to be so happy when you see her again!"

Link cupped the fairy in his hands and managed a small smile. "I hope so. Thank you, Navi." He turned to the sprout. "And thank you, too, Deku Tree Sprout."

"You can leave the flowers here if you like, Link," said the sprout. "She'll definitely appreciate them!"

He nodded, setting the flowers down at the base of the dead tree and standing back up. "Wait for me a little longer, okay, Mother?" His smile grew bigger. "I still have to save Hyrule before I see you again."

A sudden gust of wind blew through the meadow, scattering the flowers around and raining colorful petals down upon them. Link caught a stray primrose and laughed.

"You're right!" he exclaimed, "She does like them...!"

Navi and the sprout laughed along with him, sharing the excitement of the son of a blessed mother who now, in this dark future, shared her blessings with him.


End file.
